# Simon and the Oaks (film)

Simon and the Oaks (Swedish: Simon och ekarna) is a Swedish drama film which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 9 December 2011, directed by Lisa Ohlin and starring Bill Skarsgård. The film is based on the novel with the same name by Marianne Fredriksson. The film was nominated in 13 categories at the 47th Guldbagge Awards, won two of the awards: Cecilia Nilsson for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the role as Inga, and Jan Josef Liefers for Best Actor in a Supporting Role as Ruben Lentov.
Ohlin took over as director for the film, after the director Björn Runge in April 2009 announced that he would drop out of the production. In May 2009, the Swedish Film Institute (SFI) announced that Ohlin quit her job as film commissioner at the SFI to direct the film.

## Plot

The film is about Simon (Bill Skarsgård), growing up in a working-class family on the outskirts of Gothenburg during World War II. He is very talented and always felt different and an outsider. Against his parents' approval, he seeks education in the arts, normally not attended by members of the working class at the time. There he meets Isaak (Karl Linnertorp), the son of a wealthy Jewish bookseller who fled persecution in Nazi Germany. The lives of the two boys and their families intertwine as the war rages in Europe. At the end of the war, it becomes clear to Simon that his life, family and his very identity will no longer be the same.

## Cast

* Bill Skarsgård as Simon Larsson
* Helen Sjöholm as Karin Larsson
* Jan Josef Liefers as Ruben Lentov
* Stefan Gödicke as Erik Larsson
* Karl Linnertorp as Isak Lentov
* Jonatan Wächter as young Simon
* Karl Martin Eriksson as young Isak
* Erica Löfgren as Klara
* Katharina Schüttler as Iza
* Josefin Neldén as Mona
* Lena Nylén as Olga
* Cecilia Nilsson as Inga
* Jan-Erik Emretsson as Klas, neighbor
* Pär Brundin as Åke, neighbor
* Frederik Nilsson as Teacher
* Hermann Beyer as Ernst Habermann
* Sven-Åke Gustavsson as a Professor
* Jan Holmquist as a Doctor
* Iwar Wiklander as a Headmaster
* Peter Borenstein as a Rabbi
* Dellie Kamijo as Malin, age 5
* Johanna Malmsten as Malin, age 2
* Tage Wirenhed as Malin, as a baby
* Max Wulfson as musician in Berlin, solo violin
* Jörg Fröhlich as musician in Berlin, contrabass
* Peter Bock as musician in Berlin, viola
* Sebastian Selke as musician in Berlin, cello
* André Peter as musician in Berlin, violin

## Accolades

Simon and the Oaks was nominated for 13 Guldbagge Awards, and won two.
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result |
| Guldbagge Award | January 23, 2012 | Best Film | Christer Nilson | Nominated |
| Guldbagge Award | January 23, 2012 | Best Director | Lisa Ohlin | Nominated |
| Guldbagge Award | January 23, 2012 | Best Actress | Helen Sjöholm | Nominated |
| Guldbagge Award | January 23, 2012 | Best Supporting Actor | Jan Josef Liefers | Won |
| Guldbagge Award | January 23, 2012 | Best Supporting Actress | Cecilia Nilsson | Won |
| Guldbagge Award | January 23, 2012 | Best Visual Effects | Marcus B. Brodersen and Lars Erik Hansen | Nominated |
| Guldbagge Award | January 23, 2012 | Best Original Score | Anette Focks | Nominated |
| Guldbagge Award | January 23, 2012 | Best Costume Design | Katja Watkins | Nominated |
| Guldbagge Award | January 23, 2012 | Best Art Direction | Anders Engelbrecht, Lena Selander and Folke Strömbäck | Nominated |
| Guldbagge Award | January 23, 2012 | Best Make-up/Hair | Linda Boije af Gennäs | Nominated |
| Guldbagge Award | January 23, 2012 | Best Cinematography | Dan Laustsen | Nominated |
| Guldbagge Award | January 23, 2012 | Best Sound Editing | Jason Luke | Nominated |
| Guldbagge Award | January 23, 2012 | Best Film Editing | Kasper Leick and Michal Leszczylowski | Nominated |